Bitcoin SV faced a major setback in 2019 when Dr. Craig Wright claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto, resulting in its delisting from exchanges. Now, a class action lawsuit alleges that this caused significant losses for investors of the coin.
Following a recent ruling that revealed Craig Wright had lied about being Bitcoin’s creator, a new crypto battle is unfolding in British courts. The ongoing case in the Competition Appeals Tribunal in London is centered around Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (Bitcoin SV), which emerged in 2018 after a hard fork from Bitcoin Cash.
Dr. Wright has been a strong supporter of BSV, even claiming it to be the true Bitcoin. He argues that this digital asset, with its larger block size, enables faster and cheaper transactions on the blockchain.
This brings us to the class action lawsuit filed by BSV Claims Limited, which is suing prominent crypto exchanges Binance, Kraken, Bittylicious, and ShapeShift. The lawsuit seeks damages of up to £10 billion ($12.8 billion) and alleges that these exchanges colluded to delist BSV in April 2019. The claimants argue that this delisting artificially drove down the coin’s price and caused financial harm to British investors.
Notably, BSV Claims Limited is led by Lord David Currie of Marylebone, who has held influential positions in Britain, including chairman of the Competition and Markets Authority and the first chairman of broadcasting regulator Ofcom. The organization also boasts the support of other prominent politicians, including Lord Andrew Tyrie and Sir Robert Buckland.
BSV Claims Limited argues that the delisting of BSV was an anti-competitive practice that violated competition law. The lawsuit represents an estimated 244,000 British individuals who owned the cryptocurrency, and participation is automatic unless investors explicitly opt out.
The lawsuit is funded by Softwhale Limited, a company with ties to Canadian entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, a supporter of BSV. While little is known about Softwhale Limited, it is reported that Calvin Ayre provides its funding.
One piece of evidence presented by BSV Claims Limited relates to tweets made at the time of the delisting. Five years ago, a Twitter user called Hodlonaut labeled Wright a “fraud” and a “scammer.” Binance’s then-CEO, Changpeng Zhao, tweeted in support of Hodlonaut. Three days later, Binance delisted all BSV trading pairs, causing a 50% drop in its value. BSV, which was once the 12th largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, now ranks 75th.
During the hearing, Binance argued that a significant portion of the case, regarding BSV’s potential as a major cryptocurrency, should be dismissed. The exchange’s lawyer stated that those who continued to hold BSV made a voluntary decision and were free to invest in alternatives.
Kraken, on the other hand, has dismissed the lawsuit as baseless.
The current three-day hearing is focused on BSV Claims Limited’s attempt to have their class action certified with a collective proceedings order. If granted, the case will proceed to trial, but a decision on damages may take two to three years.